Use caution when giving out your personal information. Scam artists "phish" for victims by pretending to be banks, stores or government agencies. They do this over the phone, in e-mails, and in postal mail. Most institutions wouldn't ask for your SSN or other personal information over the phone, and many emphasize that they do not ask for this information. Do not send your SSN or credit card information via email. If you wouldn't feel comfortable putting this information on a postcard, you probably wouldn't want to send it by email either.

Check your bills and bank statements. Open your credit card bills and bank statements right away. Check carefully for any unauthorized charges or withdrawals and report them immediately. Call if bills don't arrive on time. It may mean that someone has changed contact information to hide fraudulent charges.

Ask questions. Ask questions whenever you are asked for personal information that seems inappropriate for the transaction. Ask how the information will be used and if it will be shared. Ask how it will be protected. If you're not satisfied with the answers, don't give your personal information.

Use firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware software that you update regularly.

Download software only from sites you know and trust and only after reading all the terms and conditions.

Don't click on links in pop-up windows or in spam e-mail.

Use caution on the Web. When shopping online, check out a Web site before entering your credit card number or other personal information. Read the privacy policy and take opportunities to opt out of information sharing. Only enter personal information on secure Web pages that encrypt your data in transit. You can often tell if a page is secure if "https" is in URL or if there is a padlock icon on the browser window.